Esteban Gutierrez says he hopes to "settle" his future with Sauber soon after making his first Friday practice appearance for the team.

Due to Sergio Perez's illness Gutierrez was called upon to drive in FP1 in India, making no major errors as he ended the session in 20th place. Having had his first taste of a grand prix weekend, Gutierrez told ESPNF1 in an exclusive interview that his target was now to try and finalise a race seat with Sauber in 2013.

"Well we are in the process [of discussing 2013]," Gutierrez said. "Of course my goal is to race with Sauber next year, so let's hope that this will be consolidated soon either with Sauber or with other opportunities that we can have."

When asked if he was speaking to any other teams, Gutierrez replied: "Not necessarily.

"But we are of course open and there are other opportunities that can be established. But for now we are looking in to Sauber and hopefully we can settle it soon."

Gutierrez added that he felt more ready to move up to a race seat at Sauber following his FP1 appearance.

"I can't say I'm fully ready because I have not been driving a full weekend yet, but definitely [Friday] was a nice feeling to be part of a Formula One event. This whole experience and atmosphere is different from the Young Driver Test because you don't have the people around, it's more like a proper Formula One weekend. Definitely it was something very positive, so after three years of being involved with the team and also my experience in GP2 and everything I feel ready to do the next step."

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